Words from Don Murphy - On RoTF, his other films, and ROTF Marketing...

Master Fwiffo · 12-07-2008, 03:51 PM

OMFG A Sunday Morning Posting - Don Murphy Message Board

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I stayed away from here for a while because I had a lot to do, and quite frankly, watching someone like Hedgehog reveal actual insanity on the site depressed me quite a bit. In addition there was this bad person involved in the production who hated this site and tried to use it as a way to punish me. But over the last few months and weeks these obstacles have silently and stunningly fallen by the wayside.

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen has finished shooting and is in the capable hands of Michael Bay and Industrial Light and Magic. If you liked the first movie, this is in the same vein, just more exciting, more spectacle and more robots. The first one was a MONSTER worldwide hit. The second will be the same because I think it will entertain even more than the first. You haven't seen much information leak this time, primarily because everyone knows it works already! June 27, 2009, place it in your calendar!

WHILE SHE WAS OUT, the indie film I did that Susan wrote and directed comes out Friday in select markets. It has gotten strong reviews and great buzz. Some of you have wondered wasssup with it and the simple answer is that it was done Independently. The first film I ever made that did not have distribution attached. This allowed Susan to make the film she wanted to make. I am so proud of her and this film. On the other hand, we made an independent film at a time when independent film is literally DYING. New Line, ThinkFilm, Picturehouse- all places where we almost sold the film- they are basically no longer what they were or gone, along with Warner Independent, Paramount Vantage and another 5 or so companies. A great company called Anchor Bay is releasing the film for us. If you are in NYC or LA or Dallas please come and check it out. It has, as noted, already been released in many countries and done very well. If you don't live in a city that it is opening in then either wait to see if we expand, or see it on DVD come next spring. It cost so little to make it is already in profit, which is nice.

TORSO, this great thriller with my hero David Fincher directing and Matt Damon supposed to star should be next. There is a lot of heat on this film since THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON is so great (it really is!) so my producing partner Bill Mechanic and I just need to figure out when the thing will get started. Soon.

WE 3 and FACES OF DEATH and a cool thing (again with the Spielberg) REAL STEEL all look like they could start in 2009. Plus there is a great project I will tell you about soon called THIRTY MINUTES OR LESS that will be directed by one of our best friends, Eddie Perez, a second unit action guy that should be heading to production soon enough. And SPLICE, a sci fi thriller that Susan and I exec produced, directed by the criminally underrated Vincenzo Natali, will come out in September 2009. And maybe, Sean Lennon permitting, at long last COIN LOCKER BABIES.

The talented writer Drew McWeeney has announced a new site now that he is leaving Ain't It Shit News. I wish him all the luck in the world -he is a good guy who deserves better than the illegal, evil shit Harry Knowles does.

It's been a hard year on so many people, and my beloved film industry is reeling from the WGA strike. Hopefully the SAG leaders will soon realize they cannot win whatever they are trying to win and will stop posturing about a strike. It would damage too many people.

It's been a good time. I love the friendships I have made here and I love that this place exists. I may not post every Sunday anymore but I do walk among you and wish you all success.

[permission granted to other sites to reprint but ONLY the post in the entirety, no cut and paste]

On Splice and Faces

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The film is called SPLICE. Not Slice. It stars Adrien Brody and Sarah Polley. Think Frankenstein crossed with Rosemary's Baby in the world of genetics.

FACES is a really scary horror movie based on the old 1980's tapes that were literally hidden at Video stores. It was to start soon at ROGUE but they got sold. I still feel good about it.

Yes, I have received several legal letters about this board over the years. Fortunately they led to nothing, because we have Freedom of Speech here in America (not, oddly in the UK)

When asked when we'd start seeing marketting for ROTF (and this is the big one)

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we're kind of trying to follow the PIRATES OF CARIBBEAN model, that is, no publicity for as long as possible, since the sequel will have enormous attention no matter what we do

And there you go. We may not get a trailer before Christmas.

Bottom Out · 12-07-2008, 04:34 PM

lol at him giving permission becuase he thinks his post on his message board is copywritten and he can actually get other websites who took excerts from his message to take the post down, lol. anyways, the other movies hes been working on sound boring.

Silent_Magnus · 12-07-2008, 05:05 PM

"You haven't seen much information leak this time, primarily because everyone knows it works already!"

Not sure what this line means.
Everyone knows what works?

Waveride · 12-07-2008, 05:12 PM

I had a vibe about them being too cocky but now there's proof that they overestimate us and the general audience...

Bgrngod · 12-07-2008, 05:13 PM

I bet we get a trailer attached to Star Trek. That'd be super rad.

Powersa · 12-07-2008, 05:19 PM

getting closer to the movie in July next year

General Tekno · 12-07-2008, 05:32 PM

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Originally Posted by Silent_Magnus

"You haven't seen much information leak this time, primarily because everyone knows it works already!"

Not sure what this line means.
Everyone knows what works?

Back with the first movie, there were probably more people leaking things because they weren't sure how fans would take it/wanted to warn them about things.

Now they have a FAR better idea how fans will take stuff.

Nevermore · 12-07-2008, 05:34 PM

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Originally Posted by Bottom Out

lol at him giving permission becuase he thinks his post on his message board is copywritten and he can actually get other websites who took excerts from his message to take the post down, lol.

There's so much wrong with this statement I can't even start to explain.

Julliant · 12-07-2008, 05:36 PM

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Originally Posted by Nevermore

There's so much wrong with this statement I can't even start to explain.

Thankfully I'm not the only one.

I think they should go for viral marketing though, like the Dark Knight.

General Tekno · 12-07-2008, 05:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bottom Out

lol at him giving permission becuase he thinks his post on his message board is copywritten and he can actually get other websites who took excerts from his message to take the post down, lol. anyways, the other movies hes been working on sound boring.

He wants the post done in its entirety ideally for a couple of reasons:

1. To promote other projects he's working on. Given the source of the post, it's perfectly understandable.

2. He doesn't want someone taking it out of context.